§ 384-b. Guardianship and custody of destitute or dependent children;\ncommitment by court order; modification of commitment and restoration of\nparental rights.\n 1. Statement of legislative findings and intent.\n (a) The legislature recognizes that the health and safety of children\nis of paramount importance. To the extent it is consistent with the\nhealth and safety of the child, the legislature further hereby finds\nthat:\n (i) it is desirable for children to grow up with a normal family life\nin a permanent home and that such circumstance offers the best\nopportunity for children to develop and thrive;\n (ii) it is generally desirable for the child to remain with or be\nreturned to the birth parent because the child's need for a normal\nfamily life will usually best be met in the home of its birth parent,\nand that parents are entitled to bring up their own children unless the\nbest interests of the child would be thereby endangered;\n (iii) the state's first obligation is to help the family with services\nto prevent its break-up or to reunite it if the child has already left\nhome; and\n (iv) when it is clear that the birth parent cannot or will not provide\na normal family home for the child and when continued foster care is not\nan appropriate plan for the child, then a permanent alternative home\nshould be sought for the child.\n (b) The legislature further finds that many children who have been\nplaced in foster care experience unnecessarily protracted stays in such\ncare without being adopted or returned to their parents or other\ncustodians. Such unnecessary stays may deprive these children of\npositive, nurturing family relationships and have deleterious effects on\ntheir development into responsible, productive citizens. The legislature\nfurther finds that provision of a timely procedure for the termination,\nin appropriate cases, of the rights of the birth parents could reduce\nsuch unnecessary stays.\n It is the intent of the legislature in enacting this section to\nprovide procedures not only assuring that the rights of the birth parent\nare protected, but also, where positive, nurturing parent-child\nrelationships no longer exist, furthering the best interests, needs, and\nrights of the child by terminating parental rights and freeing the child\nfor adoption.\n 2. For the purposes of this section, (a) "child" shall mean a person\nunder the age of eighteen years; and, (b) "parent" shall include an\nincarcerated parent unless otherwise qualified.\n 3. (a) The guardianship of the person and the custody of a destitute\nor dependent child may be committed to an authorized agency, or to a\nfoster parent authorized pursuant to section one thousand eighty-nine of\nthe family court act to institute a proceeding under this section, or to\na relative with care and custody of the child, by order of a surrogate\nor judge of the family court, as hereinafter provided. Where such\nguardianship and custody is committed to a foster parent or to a\nrelative with care and custody of the child, the family court or\nsurrogate's court shall retain continuing jurisdiction over the parties\nand the child and may, upon its own motion or the motion of any party,\nrevoke, modify or extend its order, if the foster parent or relative\nfails to institute a proceeding for the adoption of the child within six\nmonths after the entry of the order committing the guardianship and\ncustody of the child to such foster parent or relative. Where the foster\nparent or relative institutes a proceeding for the adoption of the child\nand the adoption petition is finally denied or dismissed, the court\nwhich committed the guardianship and custody of the child to the foster\nparent or relative shall revoke the order of commitment. Where the court\nrevokes an order committing the guardianship and custody of a child to a\nfoster parent or relative, it shall commit the guardianship and custody\nof the child to an authorized agency.\n (b) A proce
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